Whoops, finished this last week and haven't posted about it until now.

I thought the finale was okay. As I told AK2, I thought there were elements to it that were dumb or weak and then I thought there were parts that were at least an 8 out of 10 level of quality. In the end, Diamond is Unbreakable stays put as the worst of the four JoJos I've seen so far. That doesn't mean it's bad -- it just means it isn't the best, and is in fact the worst.

I thought that Kira trying to activate Bites the Dust one last time and then lol turns out you're already dead ... was pretty anticlimactic on the reveal. Like, I was excited to see what was happening, but the moment he showed up alongside Reimi it was already a 50-50 bet he was dead and then when they confirmed he was dead I was like "Weeeell shoot. "

I love that Jōtarō finally got an opportunity to be relevant, but man if Doppel didn't call it -- Jōtarō's powers render villains going forward (or at least, render Part IV's villains) utterly impotent. The only issue Araki presented for why Jōtarō couldn't neutralize the threat was, "He's out of range!" ......................... and then even that didn't matter in the end because lol I'm in range now bitch.

And it's like ... the range that we're talking about here, it doesn't even make sense. In Part III, when Dio used The World to defeat Kakyouin, the range there was easily a city block, with Kakyouin along the upper face of one building and Dio standing across the city block-sized area from him. And we expect that Jōtarō should have caught up to, if not wholly surpassed, Dio by now. So like ... what the fuck is 15 meters' distance, then? It's so stupid that Araki tried to play the distance card at a time like this. It just doesn't work.

Reimi was ridiculously gorgeous -- quite possibly the most beautiful female character in the JoJo universe to date, even beating out Jōsuke's mom and Mariah -- which made her departure that much more "Rnnnnngh " to me.

Kouichi getting to be the one who really can be credited with defeating Kira (what with how Act III immobilizes Kira's hand and prevents him from detonating his bomb) was kinda surprising. I 100% expected the champion to either be Jōsuke (who was not) or Jōtarō (who was in part). But yeah ... Araki really showering Kouichi with some love here.

Why can't Antonio's power be used to heal Okuyasu's father? That seems like a glaring plot hole to me. If Antonio can cure cancer and rotten teeth, why the fuck can't he reverse the damage caused by the flesh bud?

The scene with Shinobu and Hayato, with Shinobu awaiting her husband's return home, that was a pretty emotional if short scene.

The ending part with Joseph and Jōsuke was really lame and really weak, I thought. I especially dislike that they're taking the baby back with them to America and that, WELP, WE CAN'T FIND THE MOM SO WE JUST GIVE UP! Like, what the hell, guys. I guess it can be explained away, courtesy of Joseph's immense wealth, by saying, "If they find the mother, Joseph will be on the first flight back to Japan." Like, for a man of Joseph's immense wealth, there's little difference between "took the baby away from where I found it and kept it in my hotel in Morioh" and "took the baby away from where I found it and kept it with me in New York City." But yeah ... I dunno ...

And isn't it pretty fucking weird that we introduced the baby in this story arc, even had it derail the story proper, only to end up doing absolutely nothing with it!? If that baby doesn't end up mattering to Parts IV, V, VI, VII, or VIII, I'm going to have serious questions for Mr. Araki ...

I figured you would have mixed feelings toward the finale, as I did too. Some parts of it seemed really stupid/childish, like how Kira technically dies by being run over and not through Jotaro's pummeling (in keeping with the JUMP tradition of a morally immaculate hero) but would like him being dragged into a horrible underworld by the ghostly hands. Similarly, there's the somber scene with Shinobu and the rather silly one with Joseph.

Overall, I thought your watch of Part IV was very interesting. As I've mentioned before, I went from absolutely hating it to liking it a lot, more than Part III which was largely boring to me until the Jojo party landed in Egypt. I also had a lot more fun with both Phantom Blood and Battle Tendency, although the mystery of Morioh had an appeal to the VN lover in me who drew some transient connections to the like of Ever17 and Remember11.

Part V has been green-lit for animation. It's one of the worst Jojo parts by reputation, and for that reason I haven't read it myself. But for that exact reason, I'm going to actually pick-up the anime. I know next to nothing about Part V except the main character's identity, and maybe the bad guy's name.

If Part V's really that bad, then I wouldn't say no to a Season 1 approach where they give us a nine-episode Part V and then a sixteen-episode Part VI. I really don't want to have to sit through a shitty arc for two full seasons or longer. Even if it's a stand-alone 13'er, just make it a stand-alone 13'er. Don't make it a 26'er. Don't make it a 39'er like Part IV. And certainly don't make it a 48'er or 52'er like Part III.

That's fine about the baby. If it genuinely never shows up again -- and we're already onto Part IX by now, iirc -- then I don't much mind the spoiler and can go ahead and say:

I only know Part V by reputation, so I'm going to watch it to make a call myself. Granted, Jojo tends to gravitate around Part III in terms of fan opinion, where Part III is considered the best (at least, until Steel Ball Run), and the further you get away from that in either temporal direction, the worse the story gets.

Part I was said to be bad too, and I knew the story beforehand, but I liked it a lot. And I recall a lot of people expressing a higher opinion of Jonathan to whom they barely gave any recognition prior to Phantom Blood being animated. The (comparatively) unique, historical Victorian setting starring Dio, the most famous Jojo antagonist, helped it along a lot.

So, I am willing to give Part V the benefit of the doubt. Jotaro doesn't appear in it at all, and Joseph has already died, so it's as close to a stand-alone Jojo as you'd find.

Part VI is very similar to Part III in terms of structure, so I wouldn't be in a hurry to rush into it.

Been sitting on this post for like a month or two and I may as well introduce myself to the thread.

I started JJBA around summer, with the 2012 anime after hearing a lot about how great it is. I didn't have huge expectations for the series, going in, but I was pleasantly surprised. I liked the "unique" art style, the music, fights, the humor, and so on. I was pretty much hooked and was excited for the next episode. I didn't really catch up to the Part IV anime until early November, and when I did, I read the manga from that point and finished it. I haven't seen the episodes after 35 yet.

My favorite JoJo is Josuke, and I would rank them like this: Josuke > Joseph > Jotaro > Jonathan.

My favorite JoJo Part (so far) is Diamond is Unbreakable, and I would rank the parts like this: 4 > 2 > 3 > 1.

We need more opinions on what Part IV is good. Do go on if you would, since the anime is a done deal.

Actually the anime is spurring on a lot of debate. A bunch of folks call Kira a "bad" villain because he's weak compared to even the Part III mooks. That misses the whole point of his character!

Not to mention Kira is Araki's favourite villain. Dio has more or less been a caricature of himself since Part I, his development has been set in stone, but Kira's inner turmoil went back and forth like the tides on a Castillian beach.

...

Also Talon, but I forgot to mention: Jotaro is much weaker in Part IV than Part III.